London Edinburgh London 2022

A little late posting this but always good to smell retrospective roses along the way and create a few memories that would otherwise be lost in the mists of time!

Postponed for a year due to Covid the 2022 London Edinburgh London route was extended to 1540km, with a time allowance of 128 hours and 20 minutes. The route extended out to Dunfermline so included a crossing of the Firth of Forth and passed through Edinburgh city centre. There were 20 controls along the way at 13 different locations; the routes north and south were similar with some additional control points when heading south and one secret control. 

LEL is like no other ultra distance ride. Its a Randonee – not a race. Once on the road you are self-supported but there is an army of volunteers and organisers, food, beds and amazing welcomes at the control points along the way. Unlike similar rides that are usually completely unsupported, whilst being tough, it is none the less luxury bike riding allowing one to just concentrate on enjoying the journey – ‘ride, eat, sleep’.

I rode LEL in 2017 and rather foolishly opted for the 100 hour time limit that year in order to get an early start. In the end I just managed to finish in 96 hours. Oh those headwinds across the Fens!  I struggle with the idea of starting such a long distance ride late in the day so again this time opted to start in Central London guaranteeing an early start – 05:15 – but with the relative luxury of 128 hours. If you are going to ride London Edinburgh London why not start in the City of London rather than a suburb 25km to the north?

Saturday 6th August.

I managed to get my Campervan parked at the Debden start and after registration spent the afternoon getting the bike sorted. Mudguards or not? Forecast was good so after the usual faffing about and indecision – went without. Booked a room in central London ready for the early start as I didn’t fancy a 25km ride in the morning. It turned out to be a hot busy Saturday night riding into the capital and I seemed to be the only cyclist stopping at the red traffic lights! I grabbed some supper and got to bed early. 

Day one – Sunday August 7th

Up and away from the hotel it took a while to find the Guildhall Yard through the deserted city streets in the early morning dawn. I was in the second group setting out from Guildhall Yard, Central London.

We were away at 05:15 with 1500 km ahead, 14,000m of climbing in just over 5 days. As usual we all set off too fast but made good progress working with Richard and other riders. After four and a half hours riding there was a very welcome breakfast at St Ives and then onto Boston arriving at 14:00 and a late lunch. A shortish leg to Louth for afternoon tea was next before crossing the iconic Humber Bridge and supper at Hessle arriving at 19:45. The final leg of the day was on to Malton arriving at 23:30 for a few hours sleep after more food and a shower. A big day, relatively flat with good time in hand. 

Day one – 386km – 15hr 12min moving time and 2,281m climbing – avg speed 25.4km/h.

Day two – Monday 8th August

In the end I needed a good sleep after the long first day and got going just after 06:00hrs on a beautiful morning riding over the spectacular Yorkshire Moors.

The second day of a ride is always tough for me. The euphoria of the first day has gone but not yet into the full ‘ride, eat, sleep’ routine. The route headed North West towards Barnard Castle and I dropped into the secret control at East Harlsey at 09:30 before arriving at 12:35 for lunch and a 45 minute nap on the grass at Barnard Castle School. Next was Brampton and along the way rode over the Pennines with the climbs of Chapel Fell and Killhope Cross. I checked in at Brampton control at 19:25 and after some food got my head down early for a good sleep alongside a multitude of snoring companions.

Day two – 203km – 10h 10min moving time and 2798m climbing – avg speed 20.0km/h

Day three – Tuesday August 9th

Edinburgh today! Got on the road at 02:30hrs with a cool night ride to the Scottish border. A beautiful dawn broke with mist hanging in the valleys. I was a good five hours ahead of schedule. 

There was some good climbing on the road to Moffat arriving at 06:40 ready for breakfast after 75km. More climbing followed and then the Forth Road bridge emerged in the distance making this such a special moment of the ride. The Dunfermline Control was just north of the bridge and the halfway mark at 768km. I arrived at 12:41 nicely in time for lunch.

Returning to the Forth bridge the ride through Edinburgh City centre was a bit hectic with big crowds and the added problem of a tubeless puncture that wouldn’t seal and requiring a tube. The route south headed to Innerleithen, arriving at 19:00 hrs for more food and an early sleep on the St Ronan’s Primary School gym floor. 

Day three – 267km – 12h 24min moving time – 2584m climbing – avg speed 21.5km/h

Day four – Wednesday August 10th

With the daytime temperature rising, night riding was a good option so I got on the road at 00:48 only to run into a thick wet mist that demanded winter kit! I arrived very damp at Eskdalemuir at 03:30 where food and warmth was much needed! Back on the road across the Scottish Borders and onto Brampton I arrived at 08:00 for the second breakfast of the day. Next control was a return to Barnard Castle via the big climbs of Chapel Fell and Killhope Cross. At a pitstop at Alston it was great to bump into Paul from Ireland – we had finished riding 2017 LEL together on a rainy ride through the night.

Chapel Fell and Killhope Cross climbs were a challenge and I was pleased to make them without putting a foot down. It was lovely to be met by a couple of LEL, PBP veterans at the top with water and a biscuit! Chapeau to them!

After a late lunch at Barnard Castle I managed to book a massage for a painful scapular abductor muscle spasm. This pain is a regular problem I have had but only comes on after a few hard days riding and probably means my training is inadequate. I got strapped up which helped but the pain remained on and off for the rest of the ride.

After the massage I needed a lie down on the grass in the shade and ended up sleeping for 90 minutes totally missing the 45 minute alarm I had set. Setting off feeling a bit rough, Malton was the next control with 110km to ride and the target for a sleep. I was really lucky to meet up with Nick and we rode the whole leg together on a hot afternoon and into the relief of a cooler evening and the setting sun. We made good progress and arrived at 23:00hrs. 

Day four – 308km – 14hr 50min moving time – 3771 climbing – avg speed 20.8km/h

Day 5 – Thursday 11th August

I managed a couple of hours sleep at Malton and got going in the cool of the night at 03:52hrs. Dawn rising always a special moment.

Across the Humber Bridge after the Hessle control and on towards Lincolnshire- thankfully not too much climbing.

I continued to struggle with a neck muscle spasm and Frances, a super volunteer at Louth, gave my neck some good treatment!

I took a couple of power naps during the day and rode the flat Fens as the full moon rose – thankfully no headwind this time. Boston control had great food and I tucked in before heading out towards St Ives control.

After some more re-fuelling I took a 30 minute nap on the floor before heading out for the finish via the last control at Great Easton as the full moon set at the start of another hot day.

I arrived at the final control at Great Easton at 05:26hrs for more food and set off in the rapidly warming morning towards the finish at Debden. 

Riding the last few kilometres of an ultradistance ride is always a special time. Mixed feelings – sadness that the exhilarating experience is coming to an end after all the training and preparation but also relief at finishing with the near exhaustion of pushing oneself hard to make the time cut. 

I finished at 09:06hrs on the Friday morning giving a total time of 123 hours 51 minutes which was nicely inside the 128hr set to qualify for a finish – a 1547km ride.

Day five – 391km – 17hr 30min moving time – 2611 climbing – avg speed 22.3km/h

THANK YOU LONDON EDINBURGH LONDON.  What a super event with amazing organisation and volunteers – over 700 special people helping us at the controls. Chapeau to them. No wonder there were over 1500 riders from across the world. Of those riders there were 890 credited finishers who made the time cut.

RIDERS.  I shared the road with many fellow riders – not least Richard, Roger, Nick, Paul and Sean with his Mason Bokeh.

MASON CYCLES.  My BOKEH was perfect for the ride. Thank you Dom and team for such a great bike that has looked after me for over 26,000km in recent years all over the world. I set the Bokeh up for comfort – the key to ultra distance. Tubeless 32mm tyres run at 50/60psi, Aero bars stacked 60mm high giving plenty of different riding positions and resting the hands, Cane Creek EE silk post with a little suspension and Redshift stem with some flex too. The Tailfin worked well.

AND FINALLY.  To Kate, family and friends for all the support along the way. And coach Rob Wakefield, Propello Cycling Coaching, got me into good shape for the ride – thanks Rob for all those painful intervals!!